HS FOOTBALL: Rule changes adopted; Haydu and Dolhon named to all-star game

BY JOBY FAWCETT / STAFF WRITER
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Published: March 8, 2017

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Heightened awareness for player safety in football resulted in rule changes and clarifications by the National Federation of State High School Associations at its recent meeting.

There will be a greater emphasis on rules for prohibiting blindside blocking, the elimination of the pop-up kickoff, and protection of defenseless players.

“Everything discussed at the meeting had an emphasis on player safety,” PIAA statewide football rules interpreter Paul Sheehan said. “Kids are getting hurt, and we want to protect the players.”

The NFHS defined blindside blocking as “a block against an opponent other than the runner, who does not see the blocker approaching,” according to a press release. Committing the foul will result in a 15-yard penalty.

It states the blindside block “involves contact by a blocker against an opponent who, because of physical positioning and focus of concentration, is vulnerable to injury. Unless initiated with open hands, it is a foul for excessive and unnecessary contact when the block is forceful and outside of the free-blocking zone,” according to the press release.

“We are meeting and we are going to have mandatory meetings with officials, coaches and athletic directors to go over this rule,” Sheehan said.

The committee also defined and eliminated the pop-up kickoff, commonly used on onside kicks where the kicker drives the ball into the ground to loft it into the air, giving the kicking team a chance to recover.

“A free kick in which the kicker drives the ball immediately to the ground, the ball strikes the ground once and goes into the air in the manner of a ball kicked directly off the tee,” is how the NFHS defined the pop-up kick in the release.

The NFHS Football Rules Committee also expanded and gave examples of a defenseless player:

■ A player in the act of or just after throwing a pass.

■ A receiver attempting to catch a pass who has not had time to clearly become a

runner.

■ The intended receiver of a pass in the action during and immediately following an interception or potential interception.

■ A runner already in the grasp of a tackler and whose forward progress has been stopped.

■ A kickoff or punt returner attempting to catch or recover a kick, or one who has completed a catch or recovery and has not had time to protect himself or has not clearly become a ball carrier.

■ A player on the ground, including a ball carrier, who has obviously given himself up and is sliding feet-first.

■ A player obviously out of the play or not in the immediate vicinity of the runner.

■ A player who receives a blindside block with forceful contact not initiated with open hands.

The committee also adopted and clarified a uniform rule effective in the 2021 season where, “the jerseys of the home team shall be a dark color that clearly contrasts to white.”

Haydu in all-star game

Delaware Valley All-Region center Nick Haydu was selected to the Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Association East-West all-star football game sponsored by ProGrass, which is May 7 at 2 p.m. at Altoona’s Mansion Park.

A Cornell University commit, Haydu, 6-foot-1, 290, was the anchor for an offensive line that helped the Warriors average 415.1 yards per game to lead the Lackawanna Football Conference.

Delaware Valley won the LFC Division I and District 2 Class 6A championships.

North Pocono coach Greg Dolhon was selected as an assistant coach for the game.

Dolhon guided the Trojans to the District 2 Class 4A championship and the state football playoffs last season.

LFC Media Day

Stan Kucharski has scheduled the annual LFC Media Day for Aug. 1.

Players and coaches will gather at the Regal Room in Olyphant for the event where members of the media can gather information, photos and video.

Contact the writer:

jbfawcett@timesshamrock.com @JobyFawcett26 on Twitter

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